Explaining Afrophobia in Europe - Ethnic Profiling

When a black man walks in the suburbs he is questioned and looked at as if he doesn’t belong.  When a black woman is wearing expensive clothing it is assumed she got it all by drugs or sexual favours.  When a Muslim tries to go through security he is judged, scrutinised and glared at.  For decades, minorities have been victims of ethnic profiling.  This form of racial discrimination has been used by the police for quite some time now and labelling and basing judgments off one’s race reflects the inequities of a judicial system.

According to ENAR, ethnic profiling refers to the reliance by police, security, immigration or customs officials on generalisations based on race ethnicity, colour, religion or national origin rather than suspicion in directing discretionary law enforcement actions.  This issue is a priority amongst ethnic minority communities and NGO’s, but with the lack of data on the use of police power, it is difficult to see the full picture, however, that is not an excuse.  Black people in Europe face structural discrimination and racism and it is up to Europe to investigate and come to terms with the discriminating institutions, structures, policies and practices.

ENAR Shadow Report has reported the disproportionate profiling of Black people by the police in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and the UK.

An experiment was done in Amsterdam that shows the prejudices and stereotypes of people of colour.  In the Netherlands there is no statistical data on stop and search practices, however, in the documentary ‘Our Colonial Hangover’ (aired December 2014 one Black, one White and one Moroccan tried to break open a lock on a bicycle.  Police questioned the Black and Arab young men on the assumption they are stealing the bike, while they were friendly to the white man and offered to help open the lock.

The Swedish government relies on ethnic profiling as a method of pursuing and identifying irregular immigrants.  Identity check are legal in Sweden, but can only be prompted when there is a suspicion of criminal activity or when police has suspicious beliefs the person is in the country illegally.

In France, Blacks and Arabs are saying there is an increase of stop and search.  Also, two-thirds of the general prison population in France is Black.  In Greece, Black people are charged more severely when compared to other defendants with a migrant background.

These policies and instances are perpetuating ideas that black people have criminal tendencies.  The same people who are supposed to protect and serve the public are the same people who target a certain group of people and who are not trusted by the public.  Ethnic profiling is a form of racial discrimination and until it stops injustice to people of colour will continue and the lack of trust in these institutions will further exist, leading people to go to the extremes.

Briana Bell